Fate's Card
by Hikage-Chan
Summary: It is an age of war where Inuyasha comes upon Kagome and Miroku and gets swept up in the war he didn’t want to be a part of. Everyone's past will soon become clearer as they venture towards Shinto in hopes of peace. Fate is playing a different card though
1. The Attack

**Disclaimer:** I do not own the Inuyasha characters. They are owned by Rumiko Takahashi. The only character I own in this chapter is Otokonoko

**Full summary:** It is an age of war and no one can be trusted. Inuyasha comes upon a girl and monk and somehow gets swept up in the war he didn't want to be a part of

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**Chapter 1**  
**The Attack**

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Otokonoko sighed leaning against the wall of the wooden tower. Being the one to sound the alarm when there were an invasion approaching was possibly one of the most exciting, yet boring, job ever. No one wanted to invade a tiny, peaceful village in Japan. This village was only known for harvesting rice, in fact, it was the seventeenth largest supplier of rice in Japan. Well one might, like Otokonoko, might consider it a minor achievement, the villagers thought of it as a lifetime achievement.

Otokonoko stretched and looked out into the horizon. No invaders, as usual. He yawned and turned his direction towards the village. He could see the shrine were they took in orphans. The houshi-sama that ran the shrine was quite young: maybe nineteen tops. Miroku houshi-sama came to the village two years ago and ended up staying to help the villagers. A young woman, Kagome-sama, who was probably sixteen-years-old, came a year later and stayed at the shrine to help.

Otokonoko couldn't help smiling: Kagome was a beautiful woman who was kind and smart. However, every single man in the village would love to have Kagome as a wife but she always refused their affections. She was an odd woman. Most women would die just to be in Kagome's position, but then again, Kagome wasn't like most women.

The young boy turned around and looked out into the horizon. Nothing…wait. Something had shifted in the grass. The boy's face paled as he saw hundreds of figures appearing on the horizon.

"Chikushou," the boy swore before sounding the alarm.

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Kagome's head spun, her wavy ebony hair flying, at the sound of a bell echoing in the still air. She dropped her broom and raced towards the entrance of the shrine that overlooked the city.

"Nani?" she whispered seeing the figures marching towards the village. "Doushite?"

She had come to this village for one reason: to escape the war. She froze in fear, watching the figures approaching the village.

"Kagome-sama!" the voice of children cried. "What's going on?"

"Run!" Kagome shouted turning around, her face full of fear.

The children gasped at the face that was plastered on Kagome's usually cheerful face.

"Miroku houshi-sama!" the children screamed running towards the temple.

Kagome followed blinking back tears. She could sense a demonic aura from the approaching army. So they weren't here for her, were they? Kagome shook her head, clearing her mind of her negative thoughts. The children and Kagome burst into the temple where a young monk was opening a trap door.

"Hurry!" the monk said pushing the children inside. "You too Kagome-sama," the monk said grabbing the hesitant girl by her wrist.

Kagome gave a short scream as she fell into the fairly deep hole. She landed with a muffled "ouch!" before the children pulled her onto her feet. A few seconds after she stood up, Miroku landed rather gracefully where she had landed not so gracefully.

"Where are we?" Kagome whispered as Miroku pulled at a string, closing the trap door above their heads, sealing off their only source of light. And that was when all hell broke loose.

"Miroku houshi-sama! I'm scared of the dark!"

"Kagome-sama! They've got me!"

"Ahhh!"

"There's a ghost! Oni! Oni! Oni!"

"Hush!" Kagome said softly over the cries of the panicked children. "We have to stay quiet, all right?"

"Kagome-sama," a deep voice whispered into her ear. "I need you to stay with the children. I have to go make sure that the villagers are safe."

"Miroku-sama -"

"The children need you," Miroku whispered before departing through a tunnel where a ladder led to the surface.

The young monk carefully scrambled out of the hole near the outskirts of the village where he had climbed out off. He winced as he heard the cries of the villagers screaming in pain.

_Chikushou!_ The monk thought running towards the village. _Please don't let me be too late!_

The monk burst through the thick bush and arrived at the village. He almost turned away at the sight of the bloodied corpses littering the roads. The young monk sensed a youkai approaching from behind.

Without wasting a second, the monk ripped the rosary beads covering his right hand and held his palm towards the youkai. The youkai stared for a second before scoffing. It ran towards Miroku before it realised it wasn't just running towards its target. It was being_ sucked_ in. It looked up and its eyes widened as it saw an endless blackness in the palm.

Within seconds, it was gone, and all that was left was an ominous breeze. The monk sighed, shaking his head in pity.

_This is why I hate wars,_ he thought as he picked a pole that a villager had attempted to use as a defence. _People die, youkais die…and all this for a crown._ The monk stabbed his wooden pole through a youkai with a slight difficulty before extracting his weapon. He had to just leave his staff in the temple at a time of an attack. _But why are they attacking our village?_ Miroku evaded a charging youkai and whacked it in the back, hard enough to send it flying to the ground._ We have nothing._ He evaded yet another attack and dropped down to the ground sweeping his leg under the youkai, causing it to fall onto its companion._ We have no food for the warriors and we certainly don't have enough of beautiful women._

Miroku gave a sharp yell of pain, interrupting his thoughts, as a sharp blade pierced through his shoulder. He dropped to his knees as the blood slowly dropped to the floor. The youkais gathered around the one that had deified them. One youkai picked up a blade and raised it above the monk's head. Miroku closed his eyes, ready to die.

Before the blade could fall and slice through flesh and bone, claws ripped through the youkai's body, killing it in an instant. Miroku opened his eyes cautiously and stared up into a face of a tall figure.

"You OK?" the guy asked pulling Miroku up.

Miroku nodded gratefully before he saw that this boy didn't have _human_ ears. He did look human, for the most part, but the monk could sense the youkai blood flowing through his veins.

"Y-youkai!" Miroku couldn't help but yell.

The boy's face tensed slightly and he turned around. "I guess I'm used to that by now," he said almost sadly as he began walking off.

Miroku watched the boy walk off and felt a wave of guilt wash over him. After all, this boy saved his life and he had rejected him, probably like hundreds of people had done before.

"Matte!" Miroku shouted. He ran up to the boy who had stopped walking. "Arigato," Miroku said between pants. "Please help…the villagers don't stand a chance…"

The boy sighed and turned to face Miroku. "You sure you want my help? I'm a hanyou, so what's stopping me from killing everyone here?"

"If you wanted to kill everyone, you would have done it already," Miroku replied smirking. "Miroku."

"Nani?"

"My name is Miroku. I'm a monk in this village."

"Inuyasha."

Miroku stared. '_Dog youkai?' How ironic…_ he thought almost smiling.

"Look out!" Inuyasha shouted shoving Miroku out of the way as a ball of fire shot between them. The flames hit a hut sending it in flames almost instantly.

Inuyasha and Miroku's heads spun in unison towards a pig youkai. It began charging towards them and Inuyasha grabbed a sword that had been hidden in a sleek black sheath. The sword came out, appearing rusty at first, before it transformed into a giant sword that resembled a fang.

"Tetsusaiga!" Inuyasha shouted slicing through the youkai.

Miroku watched as the hanyou began attacking the many youkai and was killing them with ease. This boy could easily drive the youkais out of the village and protect them.

Miroku felt something hot graze his cheek and he stood there, frozen. He could hear the explosion of wood clashing with fire as a house behind him caught alight. He turned around and saw that most of the village was now in shambles.

There was a large youkai crossing through the debris knocking beams of wood over with no difficulty. He began moving towards Inuyasha, ignoring the struggling villagers on his way. Inuyasha seemed oblivious to the youkai's approach as he was too busy slicing the heads off weak youkais.

"Inuyasha!" Miroku shouted as the head youkai raised its sword about to send a powerful attack towards the hanyou.

Inuyasha spun around and everything seemed to go in slow motion. The sword came down about to send the attack his way, when a glowing arrow sliced through the air and hit the youkai on the head. Both the youkai and Inuyasha turned to see a girl standing on a pile of debris nearby with a bow in hand and a determined look on her face.

"K-Kikyo?" Inuyasha whispered as the youkai nearby disintegrated into ashes.

The girl leaped down from the debris and ran over to Inuyasha and Miroku.

"Are you all right?" the girl asked the houshi-sama.

"I'm fine," Miroku said clutching his bloody shoulder. "Where are the children?"

"A youkai found us," Kagome whispered. "The children managed to escape but I don't know where they went."

Inuyasha stared at the girl that resembled Kikyo in awe. She looked a look like Kikyo but he could tell she wasn't Kikyo. Besides, Kikyo wouldn't be in a village in the middle of nowhere. No, Kikyo would be safe in her palace toying with the hearts of suitors who wanted to win her heart.

A loud bang behind them caused the trio to turn around. The youkais had succeeded in destroying the village but there was none left to celebrate their victory. Most had run away by then while the rest had been killed.

"We have to go now," Inuyasha said sheathing his sword.

Kagome's eyes widened at the sight of the hanyou. He caught her staring at him and she hastily turned away.

"Come on houshi-sama," Kagome said lifting up the injured monk.

A loud explosion behind them caused them all to be thrown through the air and landed in the hard dirt. Kagome gave a short yell of pain as she landed, rolling, before coming to a stop as her head landed on a rock, knocking the girl unconscious. Miroku sat up, wincing in pain, and looked around. They had landed maybe twenty metres from where they were standing previously. The village was now alight in flames and there was no doubt that many people had died. Some villagers may have escaped, as well as the orphans, but it would be impossible to find them now.

Inuyasha sat up rubbing his head and looked over at the unconscious girl lying nearby. Now that he could see her closer, she had some resemblance to Kikyo but she looked so different at the same time. Inuyasha sighed and stood up, dusting off his haori.

"Where are you going?" Miroku asked as Inuyasha began retreating.

"Away," Inuyasha replied. "You guys can fend for yourselves now, right?"

"Sure," Miroku replied sarcastically. "I can protect an unconscious girl with an injured body? Look, why don't you just help us get to the next village and then you can go."

"What!" Inuyasha shouted. "Why the hell should I help you guys?"

"You helped us before! Why won't you help us now?" Miroku protested.

"B-because…I have somewhere to be!" Inuyasha lied.

Miroku raised a quizzical eyebrow but said nothing more. He unsteadily got up and picked up Kagome's unconscious form.

"All right then," Miroku said. "Thank you for your assistance."

Miroku began heading down a road towards the next village, knowing fully well that Inuyasha was watching them.

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**Author's Note:** So who can guess what's going to happen next? Please review! And no flames please!

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**Dictionary**

Otokonoko: Boy

Houshi-sama: Monk

Chikushou: Damn it

Nani: What

Doushite: Why

Oni: Demon

Hanyou: Half demon


	2. The Injured Warrior

**Disclaimer:** Rumiko Takahashi owns the Inuyasha characters, not me!

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**Author's Note:** Yay! Thank you my reviewers!

_Kohana: Thank you for reviewing and I hope you enjoy this chappie!_

_Dragonlance: Thank you, thank you, thank you! I already have an idea where this story will go. Hopefully I won't give away what will happen anytime soon._

_Chebonne: Read and you shall find out. _

_Pwalefriend: Nope, Kagome isn't fleeing from Kikyo. She's fleeing from…someone who I won't mention till later. So you got half of it right. You can guess if you want and I'll let you know if you're right..._

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**Chapter 2**

**The Injured Warrior**

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It had been almost a day since Miroku and Kagome had left their village with Inuyasha following rather grumpily from behind. They rarely talked during their journey, mostly acknowledging each other for food or water or a rest. Finally, it was Inuyasha who decided to make some conversation. Kagome was rather curious as to why the hanyou was following them, but she remained silent on that subject.

"Yo wench," Inuyasha said poking Kagome hard in the back, causing her to stumble.

"What?" she snapped regaining her balance and falling back into step with Miroku.

"That was some power you showed back then," Inuyasha said ever so casually. "You're a miko aren't you?"

"Miko?" Kagome said laughing at the preposterous idea. "I am no miko," Kagome assured Inuyasha.

"That was a hama no ya," Inuyasha continued. "I've only seen one person use a hama no ya attack before and she was a very powerful miko."

Kagome almost stopped walking. _He knew Kikyo!_ Kagome's mind raced as she continued walk, speeding up a bit. "Really?" Kagome asked casually. "Well, for your information, I am no miko. Nor would I like to be one, thank you very much."

Kagome stalked on ahead fuming slightly. Inuyasha and Miroku gazed at her hunched figure staying a good five metres away from her.

"What's wrong with her?" Inuyasha whispered into Miroku's ear.

Miroku shrugged pretending to know nothing. "Kagome-sama has a long history with mikos, though I would rather she tell you than me. It is not my place to tell you things of her past. When Kagome-sama wants to, she will tell you but until then, hold your patience and wait for the right moment."

"And when would that moment be?" Inuyasha asked raising an eyebrow towards Kagome.

"You will know," Miroku said with an amused smirk.

"I can see the village!" Kagome shouted delighted from up ahead. "I can see it!"

The two men ran over to where Kagome was jumping up and down like a little girl who had gotten what she had wanted. There was a village down the hill but it seemed abandoned.

"I can smell blood," Inuyasha said sniffing the air. "And youkai have been through here. Most likely, this village had a raid like yours. There probably aren't any survivors left…"

Inuyasha's voice trailed off as Kagome stared in frozen horror. _People are dying Kagome,_ she thought blinking back tears. _Don't you think it's time you faced your destiny? Your path? Your blood?_

Kagome ran down the hill. _Someone has to be alive…there has to be someone who is alive and they won't die either. This war…doushite?_

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Kagome arrived at the village panting. She hadn't wanted to believe it as she was running down the hill ignoring the cries of Miroku and Inuyasha. She had to see it for herself.

Kagome gasped, her hands flying to cover her mouth. Tears sprung at her eyes as she took a feeble step back staring at the scene before her.

It would have been a lively and cheerful village, but no longer would the children run along the streets or husbands greet their wives. Kagome dropped to her knees and gave a few strangled sobs.

"What's wrong?"

Kagome looked up and saw Inuyasha standing in front of her, looking slightly concerned. Kagome threw herself into Inuyasha's chest and began sobbing loudly.

"T-they're d-dead!" Kagome sobbed. "I-I should have d-d-done something, b-but I didn't!"

Inuyasha stared, a little shocked, at how Kagome had suddenly broken down by the sight of the bodies on the street.

"It's OK," he said quietly patting her on the back. "You couldn't have known."

Kagome pulled herself away from Inuyasha and turned around. She felt so embarrassed. Ever since she was little, Kagome had been taught to hide her feelings so people wouldn't be able to tell whether they were hurting her ort not. But now, she was breaking down and she felt humiliated.

"We should uh…go look for survivors," Kagome said quietly wiping the tears from her dark brown eyes.

Kagome quickly stepped further away from Inuyasha and began to check out the nearby huts. Hut after hut, all the traumatized girl could find were dead people. She must have seen at least thirty before Kagome stumbled out of a hut with a pale face.

"Anything?" Inuyasha asked standing up. He had been kneeling by a corpse of a young boy who five arrows imbedded into his chest. There was no way in hell that boy could have survived, but Inuyasha had felt a need to make sure he was dead.

"N-no," Kagome stammered collapsing onto a bench. "Women and children were killed…why them?"

"Because it was done by the hands of merciless youkai who take pleasure in seeing blood being split," Inuyasha spat in disgust.

Kagome stared curiously at him. "Aren't you part youkai though?"

Inuyasha glared at Kagome. "Don't you ever mention my father again," Inuyasha snarled before stalking off.

Kagome blinked and stood up. "I didn't mean too," Kagome said quietly.

"Nani?" Inuyasha snapped turning around.

"I didn't mean to offend you," Kagome rephrased. "I just wondered why someone who had youkai blood in their veins would insult their own kind."

"The same reason you seem to hate some humans," Inuyasha retorted.

Kagome didn't reply and the two stared at each other, waiting for Kagome's response, though it never came.

"Kagome-sama! Inuyasha! I found someone!" Miroku's voice shouted breaking through the still air.

The two turned and saw Miroku supporting an unconscious girl. She had an arrow through her arm as well as a weapon embedded into her back. Kagome winced, glad that she could not feel whatever pain that girl was in.

"I'll fetch some bandages," Kagome volunteered.

Running into the nearest hut, Kagome almost tore it apart looking for pieces of cloth that they could use to tend to the girl's wounds. She found some, eventually, and ran back outside.

"Um…why don't you guys fetch some firewood while I tend to her wounds?" Miroku asked eyeing the girl with a glint in his eyes.

"No way!" Kagome shouted shoving the monk slightly. "_I_ will take care of the girl and _you_ two can go fetch the firewood."

Before the boys left to look for the wood, Kagome got them to help lift the girl onto a bed so Kagome could tend to her wounds. There was a plus side to helping orphans everyday: you could learn how to dress wounds. The children back on the shrine had a tendency to fall out of trees, fall off fences, fall down stairs and fall off each other. It took Kagome quite a while to be able to dress their wounds like any mother would do to her child.

She carefully removed the arrow from the girl's arm, wincing slightly as she saw some blood dripping down. The sleeping girl winced slightly but did not gain consciousness. Kagome sighed in relief and got a wet cloth and cleaned the area around the wound before dressing it with strips of cloth.

Kagome went for the sickle in the girl's back. Kagome removed the sharp object slowly and carefully before covering the open wound with the cloths. In a few minutes, Kagome had cleaned the wound and wrapped the cloths around it very tightly.

Kagome watched the girl for a bit, wondering how and why the demons would inflict such damage onto a girl. She saw the girl's clothes and realised that she wasn't dressed like most of the women of the village. In fact, she had an odd sort of armour on. It wasn't like that of a soldiers and it certainly wasn't like that of a youkai's armour.

The girl began to stir in her sleep. Kagome gasped stepping back. The girl's eyes fluttered open and she looked up at Kagome drowsily.

"Where am I?" the girl whispered, her voice croaky from dehydration.

"Here," Kagome said handing the girl some water to drink. The girl drank it thirstily before giving Kagome a grateful look. "You're in your village," Kagome replied to the girl's question. "One of my friends found you and I tended to your wounds."

"This isn't my village," the girl said sitting up with difficulty. She gave a sharp cry of pain and her hands flew to the wound on her arm. "Damn youkai," she hissed. "They attacked me when I had my back turned to them. Cowards!"

"You were fighting them?" Kagome asked sitting down on the fall and staring at the girl intrigued. Most girls in this time did not fight and Kagome was most anxious to find out this girl's adventure stories.

"I'm a youkai taijiya," the girl replied. "Do you have any food? I'm starving!"

Kagome looked around the hut and found some fruits and gave it to the girl who ate it hungrily.

"Anyway, this village asked for protection because they don't have any warriors. A majority of my village came to protect the villagers but we weren't expecting such strong demons or so many either. Are there anymore survivors?"

Kagome shook her head. "What's your name?"

"Sango."

"Kagome."

"Arigato Kagome-chan, for taking care of my wounds," Sango said lying back down on the bed. "What are you doing in this village, if you don't mind me asking?"

"The village I was staying in was raided by a youkai army," Kagome said standing up. "The village was destroyed."

Sango nodded sympathetically. "Where are you going to go now?"

Kagome blinked. _Where _am_ I going to go?_ she thought. _I didn't really think about it. I always thought I could come to this village and stay like I did in the other village._

"Don't you have a home?"

_Home…_Kagome looked down at her lap. _I do have a home but I don't want to go home. Not right now at least, maybe in like a hundred years. Two hundred years would be better to return home…_

"Kagome-chan?"

Kagome looked up at Sango and sighed. "I don't know where to go now," Kagome said with another deep sigh.

"Why don't we join the war?" Sango asked cocking her head slightly. "I would like to get revenge on my family by slaying every single youkai in this land till there is none left."

"Not all youkai are bad you know," Kagome said softly.

"Of course I know that!" Sango said even softer. "But I have lost everyone I know to youkai. What would you do in my position?"

Kagome stayed quiet. She couldn't reply. _If everyone I knew died…_

"Exactly," Sango said quietly. "You would do what I want to do. I have no other choice." Sango sounded like she was on the verge of tears but Kagome didn't say anything. Kagome didn't want to say anything or was it that she didn't know what to say?

"If I join this war, I can stop any person from feeling what I'm feeling right now. You don't know what it's like to lose everyone you ever loved in one moment."

Sango was sobbing now. She had her knees pulled into chest and she was sobbing into them. Kagome got up and walked over to Sango and placed a comforting hand on Sango's back.

"It's OK," Kagome said softly. _No it isn't you baka! She has lost her whole family. How can it be OK?_ "Listen Sango-chan," Kagome said removing her hand from Sango's back. "I may not understand you but I know that killing every youkai for revenge of your family isn't right. I know that right now, I must sound like the nastiest person in the world by telling you not to take your revenge."

Sango gave a loud hiccup or sob. Kagome didn't know what it was but she continued on.

"Not every youkai in this world is evil. It's just like how not every human in this world is good."

"But there are more good humans than there are of good youkais!"

Kagome almost laughed. "Sango-chan, every race is corrupt. No matter where you look or which direction you look at, humans are just as evil as youkais. You getting in this war will mean you will sink as low as the youkai who have slain your family."

Sango turned away from Kagome and relaxed into the bed. Kagome got the message that Sango needed some time alone to think and recover.

Kagome stood up and walked out of the hut. "Please think about what you want to do Sango-chan," Kagome said quietly. "I hope you make the right decision in what you will do with your life."

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Kagome handed Miroku and Inuyasha a bowl of noodles before getting a bowl for herself. The three ate in silence, thinking. Sango was still sleeping and in deep thought and they thought it would be best to leave her.

"Sango is quite beautiful," Miroku said interrupting the hanyou and Kagome's thoughts causing Kagome to choke on her noodles and Inuyasha to almost drop his bowl in surprise. No, instead he sloshed some of the hot soup onto Miroku's feet.

Miroku leapt off the floor saying a long string of curses that could cause Buddha himself would turn away in shame. Kagome was coughing loudly, trying to dislodge of a noodle from her throat. Miroku began yelling at Inuyasha for burning his feet and Inuyasha jumped off his stool and began arguing back with Miroku. Neither of them noticed that Kagome was still coughing and attempting to clear her oesophagus. She finally recovered and glared at the guys arguing like two boys who had found a new toy to play with.

"What did you say!" Inuyasha roared glaring down at Miroku.

"You heard me!" Miroku shouted back.

"So Sango-chan is beautiful, eh?" Kagome asked sitting back on her stool and eating the rest of her noodles.

Miroku turned to face Kagome with an almost dreamy smile on his face. "Don't you think so?"

Kagome scoffed. "You say that about every woman you see," Kagome replied. "You aren't a very good monk you know."

"And neither are you a very good -"

"You made your point!" Kagome shouted jumping up suddenly. Her noodles fell to the floor, breaking the bowl and soaking the floor with the soup and noodles. Kagome shot a glare at Miroku before stalking out of the hut.

"What's _her_ problem?" Inuyasha asked forgetting his argument with Miroku. Miroku didn't reply but picked his bowl and continued eating. "OK…what were you going to say?"

"Nothing," Miroku replied innocently.

"Sure…" Inuyasha drawled. "Like I believe _that_. Come on, tell me. It'll be a secret between men."

Miroku looked up at Inuyasha and raised an eyebrow. "I'm not going to tell you," he replied. "Not unless you can give me something worth telling."

"Like a midnight stroll with Sango?" Inuyasha randomly guessed digging into his now cold noodles.

"Actually, that would be quite nice," Miroku said grinning.

Inuyasha rolled his eyes, surprised that he was right but more repulsed by Miroku's actions. "Control yourself! You're a monk!" Inuyasha shouted throwing his empty bowl at Miroku's head.

Miroku ducked and the wall smashed against the wall of the hut.

"I think Sango might be hungry," Miroku yelped jumping up. "I'll give her some food."

Before Inuyasha could do anything, Miroku had grabbed a bowl of soup and left the hut. Inuyasha rolled his eyes and looked out of the window. He could see a bunch of hills in the horizon. This place looked fairly familiar.

_That's right; I was here once with…_He let his thoughts trail off as he continued to stare. _We're near the Shinto Kingdom._

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**Author's Note:** Shinto Kingdom is just something I made up. I doubt it's a real place. Thank you all my reviewers! Please review! And no flames.

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Next chapter, will Sango join our trio in their journey? OK, technically, they have no journey right now. It's more like Inuyasha is escorting Miroku and Kagome to a village where they can stay. And what's waiting at the Shinto Kingdom? That you won't find out for a while, but I figure I should keep you guys guessing. 


	3. Gaining An Ally

**Disclaimer:** I own the story plot…and that's about it.

**Author's Note:** Thank you my reviewers!

**Chapter 3**

**Gaining an Ally**

The sunrise was just as beautiful as the sunset. However, the sunrise silhouetted the hills in the distance perfectly, casting the abandoned village in an orange glow. Needless to say, it was beautiful. Kagome was the only one to witness the scenic view that morning.

Kagome smiled and leaned against the wall of a hut thinking. No one would interrupt her thoughts that morning and she knew that today, Miroku and she would be heading off to the next village. She didn't know what Inuyasha planned to do, nor did she really care.

"Stupid, stuck up, jackass hanyou," Kagome muttered darkly thinking about the hanyou with those adorable doggy ears.

_Adorable?_ Kagome thought horrified. _Oh kami! Did I just think Inuyasha's ears were _adorableKagome groaned and sank to the ground. _No matter, because after today, I shall never see that hanyou again._

"Ohayo," a voice said startling Kagome's train of thoughts.

Kagome gave a little yelp before jumping up. She watched the hanyou approach her and look towards the hill where the sun was rising steadily.

"Aren't you up a little early wench?"

Kagome ignored him. "None of your business," Kagome snapped. "Anyway, I was just thinking. There ain't any law against that," she added.

"Whatever," Inuyasha replied grinning. "Where are you going after Sango has recovered?"

"Miroku-sama and I are going to the next village," Kagome replied.

"Which direction?"

Kagome pointed towards the hills. Inuyasha nodded and stretched.

"I'm going that way too," he added. "Got some business in the Shinto Kingdom."

"Really?" Kagome asked, hoping she didn't sound too interested.

"Yeah," Inuyasha replied raising his eyebrow at her. "Unfinished business."

Kagome bit her lip. _What the hell does he mean by 'unfinished business'?_ Kagome thought looking towards the sunset. _Maybe he has to kill someone. He looks like a killer. Way to jump to conclusions Kags! Maybe he has family in Shinto. I can't presume he's some psycho path._

"That miko," Kagome said quietly, "the one you mentioned before that could use the hama no ya…who was she?"

"Kikyo," Inuyasha replied. "She was a priestess in the Shinto Kingdom."

_I knew it!_ Kagome's mind screamed. _I knew it! I knew it! He _did_ know Kikyo…so why haven't I seen him before?_

OoOoOoO

Sango woke up, rubbing her eyes. God her arm her like hell, and she forgot for a brief moment why it hurt. Then she remembered. All the pain came flooding back to her in a few moments and Sango dug deeper into the bed trying to keep herself warm.

"Are you awake?" a deep voice asked causing Sango to sit up again rather quickly.

The pain came and she clutched her wounds wincing in pain. She looked up and saw a young monk with black hair tied in a short ponytail and violet eyes. She blinked and he blinked back.

"Who are you?" Sango asked, her hands roaming around for a weapon to use if he seemed to be a threat. Her hands came across her pillow, and she inwardly groaned. _This_ was the best weapon she could come up with? Sango kept her face emotionless, none the less, as not to throw off her intentions.

"My name is Miroku," the monk said calmly. "I doubt that pillow would do much damage by the way."

Sango blushed and relaxed her grip around the pillow. "Sango," she mumbled.

"I know," the houshi-sama replied looking up at the ceiling. "Kagome-sama told me earlier," he added quietly.

"Where is Kagome-chan?" Sango asked looking around the empty hut.

"She's outside talking to Inuyasha," Miroku replied. "Inuyasha is travelling with us, for now at least," he explained seeing Sango's confused face. "We met him at our last village and he seems to be travelling in the same direction we are."

The houshi and taijiya stared at each for a few awkward moments, before Sango turned away to looked at her fiddling hands tugging at a loose thread on the blanket.

"Where are you going once you are healed?" the monk asked running a hand through his hair.

"I thought…I want to join the army," she mumbled sheepishly. "I don't care what Kagome-chan said because the youkais are responsible for the death of my little brother, my father and everyone I have known since I was a child!" Sango sounded near hysterics by the time she half sobbed the sentence out.

"I understand the grudge you hold," Miroku replied calmly. "But sometimes revenge isn't the way to solve things. If you are to kill the youkais responsible for the death of your loved ones, this may cause more heartache. Youkais have kin too, you know, and they would probably want revenge if their loved one was killed. It is a never ending circle unless someone decides that death is not the best option."

It took a while for Miroku's words to sink into Sango and when she finally absorbed it in, she began shaking her head as tears flew down her cheeks.

"No, you don't understand!" she said, her voice steady despite the uneasiness of her breathing. Sango opened her mouth to argue back with the monk, but he held his hand up, stopping her before she even started.

"Travel with us for a while, and then if you still want to join the army, I will help you," Miroku said. "We will be travelling to Shinto where they will probably have an army ready to send out soon."

"Shinto?" the girl repeated. "Why are you going to Shinto?"

"It would be safer to stay there," Miroku explained. "I suppose living in villages are harder to hear the news of the war, but Shinto declared itself as a neutral country three years ago."

"I knew that," Sango said quietly. "I heard about it from my father when Shinto first declared that. But I thought getting into Shinto is supposed to be very difficult. Didn't the king stop all incoming and outgoing traffic except for trades, which have to be quarantined for a month before entering?"

Miroku nodded. "True, but we can test our luck, can't we?"

OoOoOoO

Kagome's stomach gave a loud growl and she clutched it, blushing. She was starving since Inuyasha refused to collect some fruits for breakfast.

"Stupid hanyou couldn't fetch breakfast," she muttered starting a fire to cook some stew for dinner. "I shouldn't cook lunch for that ungrateful -"

"I heard that!" a voice shouted from outside. "And for your information, I'm chopping wood for your stupid fire."

"Fine!" Kagome shouted back.

_Can't I get some privacy here?_ her mind screamed as she place a pot of water onto the stove. _Honestly! I couldn't get any back home and now here, in a village where everyone is _dead_. Stupid demon abilities… _Kagome threw some vegetables into the pot with some noodles and herbs and spices. _Let's put some curry into Inuyasha's food! That will teach him to eavesdrop into my conversation!_

Kagome began searching around for some curry leaves, but alas, she did not find any. _The gods are against me today,_ she thought furiously as she went back to the stew that was boiling merrily on the stove. Kagome sighed and added a couple more chopped up vegetables into the stew. She smiled sadly as she began to stir the stew.

Before she arrived at the shrine, Kagome had been the worst cook ever. The orphans had helped her learn the basics and it had taken her a while before she could master cooking the perfect stew as well as noodles. Because of the orphans, Kagome was no longer a dependent girl, but more of an independent woman. Kagome could cook for herself, defend herself and survive.

"What would I have done without those kids?" Kagome sighed tasting a bit of the stew. "Needs more salt," she mumbled reaching over for a bowl containing the salt. She took a pinch and threw it into the pot.

"Smells good," Inuyasha said walking into the hut with some fire wood. He walked over to the pot and gave it a sniff. "For a spoilt brat, you cook pretty well. Well, it smells good, but who knows how it'll taste"

Kagome raised an eyebrow at him before rolling her eyes._ Don't let someone who is about as intelligent as wood get to you! He is not worth it... Take your anger out later and do your revenge silently. Don't let him know that you will be planning something to make him suffer._

It took all of Kagome's strength not to grab Inuyasha's sensitive dog ears and yank at them until he was screaming in pain. She handed Inuyasha bowl of stew.

"Give it to Sango," she said, her voice quavering slightly. "She hasn't had any breakfast either since _someone_ didn't get any breakfast."

"Wow, it almost sounds as though you're blaming me," Inuyasha said, his words causing Kagome to clench her fists. "You're the woman here, Kagome, so aren't you responsible for cooking?"

He made a hasty exit, leaving just in time to hear something smashing against the wall of the hut as well as a frustrated scream. Inuyasha smirked to himself, glad to know that he got to the girl, as he walked towards the hut where Miroku was watching over Sango. The inu hanyou didn't really trust Miroku around women (something told him that this monk wasn't all that holy) but Kagome seemed to trust him enough to take care of Sango, so why should he care?

Inuyasha walked into the hut interrupting an argument between the youkai taijiya and the houshi. Truthfully, Inuyasha could hear the fight from outside, but he, in a temporary lapse of insanity, decided to help the monk out by intervening. Apparently, the fight had been about Miroku's hands going somewhere where they shouldn't have gone. Inuyasha didn't trust that monk around women that much, but he sure as hell wasn't to argue back with Kagome when she wanted Miroku to look after the injured warrior.

"Got you lunch," he said turning to Sango, who's eyes widened slightly.

"Youkai!" she shrieked crawling backwards. She grabbed her pillow and threw it as hard as she could. And for a pillow, it hit Inuyasha pretty hard, hard enough to make him stumble back a bit and drop the stew that he was holding.

"What the hell was that for!" Inuyasha shouted.

"You youkai are all the same!" the estranged girl began screaming throwing whatever she could at Inuyasha.

Inuyasha shielded himself from some of the pitiful objects flying towards him. "What the hell does that mean?" Inuyasha snarled rushing over to Sango and gripping her wrist, stopping her from her throwing frenzy.

"Let go!" Sango shouted squirming.

"For your information, girl, I am not a youkai and I'm not a killer either!" Inuyasha snarled. "So get this through your thick head: not all youkai are evil and you going on a killing spree just will make you as evil as you think youkai are!"

Sango's blood boiled. _Who the hell does he think he is?_ she thought digging her nails into his skin hoping he would let go soon. _How can he tell me that by killing youkai, I'm just as evil as them? They _deserve_ to die! They killed everyone I know and love._

Sango, somehow, managed to shove Inuyasha off her and got up. "Get away from me youkai!" Sango shouted.

Miroku made a move to try and stop Sango, but she threw him a glare that stopped him in his tracks. "Sango," the monk said shaking off Sango's glare and grabbing her wrist.

"Let go," she said trying to shake Miroku off. "Houshi-sama, let go or so help me I will attack you too!"

"Listen to yourself!" Inuyasha roared. "What are you willing to sacrifice for revenge? Do you think your family would want you to dedicate your life to killing? What will murder gain you?"

"Let me go!" Sango said, unaware of the tears that she was pouring out, as she tried shaking off the monk. "Let me go!"

Sango dropped to her knees, exhausted, emotionally and physically, and Miroku let go of her. Sango's arms wrapped around her stomach as she kneeled on the ground, rocking to and fro as she sobbed. It seemed as though Inuyasha's words had made an impact on Sango. Inuyasha and Miroku watched Sango sob for a while, before leaving the hut. Sango needed some time to think and recover.

The two men walked over to the hut where Kagome was eating her lunch and joined her. There was an awkward silence between the three, the two men deciding to leave Kagome in the dark of what had just happened with Sango. Kagome could suspect something had happened between them and the injured Sango, but they would have to tell her sooner or later.

OoOoOoO

Sango had been in deep thought since Inuyasha and the houshi-sama had left the hut. She crawled back onto her bed and began sobbing quietly. She felt so ashamed of herself right now that it would be best if no one saw her. She pulled the blankets over her head and took a couple of deep breaths.

"Gomen Otou," she whispered burying her face into her hands. "Gomen…"

OoOoOoO

Inuyasha woke up the next morning, itching to get away from the village they were currently staying in. He was constantly waking up to the scent of old blood he didn't like the scent of the liquor that seemed to have been drenched on the whole village. It seemed as though the youkais had attempted to set the village on fire by covering it with liquor, but gave up halfway. He stretched and turned over, watching Kagome sleep peacefully.

"Why do you have to look like her?" he murmured.

Inuyasha shook his head and went outside. It was a fairly cool morning with a thin fog blanketing the village giving it an almost eerie appeal. Inuyasha headed straight over to Sango's hut for two reasons. The first being to make sure that the monk hadn't snuck in during the night to take advantage of Sango and the second being that Sango was very vulnerable right now and a youkai might take advantage of it. Inuyasha knew that the first reason was pretty stupid since that monk wouldn't dare do something so deceitful and he certainly had no proof the monk was a pervert, but his instincts told him he was, and a inu hanyou's instincts were almost always on the dot.

Sango was already awake when Inuyasha walked into the hut. She was sitting in her bed with a thoughtful expression on her face. She was deep in thought and hadn't even noticed that Inuyasha had entered the room.

"Morning," Inuyasha said clearing his throat nervously.

Sango looked up startled but relaxed when she saw it was just Inuyasha. "Morning," she replied nervously. "Um…about yesterday? I'm sorry." Inuyasha nodded, accepting her apology. "I also gave some thought into what you said and I realised that for revenge, I was willing to give up everything, my future, my sanity and my life, just to make the pain go away. The pain doesn't go away does it?"

Inuyasha shook his head. "I know how you feel. I thought revenge was the best option but after I killed him, the anger never went away. I hated myself for sinking to his level and I hated the fact that I never said goodbye to her or was there when she was dying. I just wanted to make sure that guy paid for what he did."

Sango nodded, understanding Inuyasha's feelings. "It took me a while to convince myself that murder wouldn't bring my parents back to life, nor would crying over it. I have to move on and the only way I can do is to start my life over."

"Where are you going to go?"

"I think…if I can, can I follow you to Shinto?" Sango asked looking down at the dusty floor. "I think that in Shinto I would be able to start over."

"So you don't want to join the war anymore?"

Sango shook her head. "My father didn't want us involved in the war and I am not about to go insult his spirit by joining this war."

"Can you start walking?" Inuyasha asked standing up. "I could use some help collecting some breakfast."

Sango smiled. "Yeah, I can walk now."

_Thank you Inuyasha,_ Sango thought as Inuyasha helped her up and over to the door. _I owe you so much for helping me move on. Gomen Otou, Kohaku. I almost made a mistake, but I will try to honour your spirits. I will not a be a disappointment anymore._

OoOoOoO

**Author's Note:** Do you guys want Shippo in the story? I really don't like Shippo that much (he's really annoying) but that is just my opinion. If you want Shippo in the story, let me know. It'll be like a poll, so if more people say that they don't want Shippo (please, please, please say no!) then he won't be in it.

I have no idea what will happen in this story. I'm sort of making this up as I go along, so be prepared for the unexpected. I have a faint idea of the ending and Kagome's secret past, as well as Inuyasha's and Miroku. You can kind of guess that everyone has a secret past except for Sango since her past has already been explained. If anyone can give me a suggestion for the next chapter, please let me know! I will dedicate the chapter to you.

Sorry for the late update, school's just been harder than I thought and we've been piled with _so_ much homework it's inhumane. I got exams coming up soon and three tests next week.


	4. Hatred For You

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Inuyasha

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**Chapter 4**

**Hatred To You**

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**

With Sango fully healed, the, now, group of four began their journey towards Shinto. It was a rather quiet walk that day and it was raining quite heavily.

"How long till we get to Shinto?" Kagome asked breaking the silence as the rain fell heavily. She hugged her wet kimono closer to her body attempting to keep warm.

"It could take maybe three days if we keep up this pace," Miroku commented looking ahead at the mountains.

"Three days, huh?" Inuyasha murmured quietly.

"Are there any villages that we can rest between here and Shinto?" Kagome asked eyeing the rocky ground they were walking past. The land wasn't going to make a comfortable bed now that they were nearing the rocky mountains. "We will also need to camp near a good water source and have you noticed that there are hardly any forests near the mountains? We'll have no fire at night!"

"You almost make it sound as though you don't _want_ to go to Shinto," Inuyasha said with an arched eyebrow.

"I don't want to die of starvation and dehydration here!" Kagome snapped. "Would you?"

"I'm a half demon, wench, so I wouldn't die of starvation in one day! You humans are so weak!"

"So you must be weak too since you're half human too, you know!"

"But I'm not as weak as you, bitch."

"What did you call me?" Kagome shrieked stopping in her path to face Inuyasha with a furious face.

Inuyasha almost flinched at her glare and the rage burning in her eyes before he reminded himself that he was a _demon_, well half anyway, and no human was going to bring him down. Inuyasha stood tall and glared down at Kagome.

"Are you deaf now, _bitch_?" Inuyasha drawled with a smirk, baring his white fangs.

Kagome was shaking with anger now but before she could pounce on Inuyasha and try to kill him, Miroku came out of nowhere and grabbed her arms, restraining her from the half demon.

"Calm down Kagome-sama!" Miroku yelled pulling Kagome back. For a girl, Kagome put up a good fight. "Control your anger!"

Inuyasha smirked at Kagome causing her to make a lunge at him but Miroku's grip was too strong and all Kagome could do was kick Inuyasha, and she managed to get his shins.

"Ow! You bitch!"

"Stop calling me that!" Kagome screamed.

She swung her legs again kicking Inuyasha in the torso. Before Inuyasha could attack Kagome, Sango grabbed him and pulled him back, with difficulty I might add. Sango was at least a head or two shorter than Inuyasha and he was certainly heavier than her. But somehow, the young youkai taijiya managed.

"Stop it you two!" Sango shouted.

"Not until that bastard says he's sorry!" Kagome replied loudly, her legs now kicking Miroku hoping that he would let go, which he didn't.

"For what?" Inuyasha snarled with equal viciousness. "You're mad at me because I'm telling the truth?"

"TRUTH!" Kagome shouted squirming out of Miroku's grip.

Kagome made a leap and tacked Inuyasha, causing him and Sango to fall to the ground. Kagome raised her hand and slapped Inuyasha across the cheek with a deafening slap.

"What the hell did you do that for?" Inuyasha said sitting up grabbing Kagome's wrists before she could slap him again.

"Because you're a jerk and you called me a bitch!"

Kagome raised her foot and stomped hard on Inuyasha's chest. He let go of her almost immediately and began to cough loudly. Kagome felt a slight pang of guilt as she got up, but she reminded herself that he was a half demon so whatever damage she did wouldn't be permanent.

Inuyasha glared at Kagome furiously, making Kagome's eyes widen in fear. _Poked the bear_, she thought before running off into the forest nearby. She could hear Miroku and Sango calling her but she ducked beneath the large branches and dove deeper into the dark forest.

* * *

OoOoOoO

* * *

"That baka!" Inuyasha snarled sitting up. "Doesn't she know that the lands here are infested with demons? And she so _wisely_ left her bow and arrows here!"

"Why, Inuyasha, it almost sounds as though you're worried of Kagome-sama!" Miroku said sounding amused.

"I am not worried about that _bitch_! It's her fault she ran in there weapon less!"

"You made her mad and you scared her," Sango pointed out. "If anyone one of us should go and get her, it should be _you_, Inuyasha," she added.

"Me!" Inuyasha yelped. "That wench is probably safe and she'll come back soon," he said hastily.

"Inuyasha, go get her," Sango snarled picking up her hiraikotsu and raising it.

Inuyasha took a step back, wondering how hard the female taijiya could hit. He had two choices then and there. The first was to see how hard Sango's hit would be and the second choice was to go fetch Kagome and not be injured should Sango's hit be hard.

"OK, OK, I'll go get that stupid wench," Inuyasha muttered running into the forest.

"Do you think it was safe letting him go after her, houshi-sama?" Sango asked watching Inuyasha's red haori envelop in the darkness of the forest.

"Probably," the monk replied sitting down on a nearby log. "Kagome-sama can put up a good fight if she wants to. Let us just pray to Kami that Inuyasha isn't in a killing mood."

* * *

OoOoOoO

* * *

Kagome tripped over another stray branch on the forest bed. She fell to the hard ground with a grunt as her knees scraped on the slightly rocky ground. She picked herself up, ignoring the slight pain in her knees, and continued running.

_Why am I running?_ she thought as she slipped down a steep hill side. _Sure Inuyasha looked like he was about to murder me but I doubt he could do anything with a servant of Buddha there and a youkai taijiya. Plus my powers might have stopped him from advancing._

Kagome gave a short shriek as she landed not very gracefully and falling on her butt. She sat up rubbing her sore butt and looked up at the steep hill.

_Oh great! Now how am I supposed to get back to everyone?_

Furiously, Kagome began stomping around the forest trying to get back to her travelling companions. A rustle in the bushes behind her caused the girl to turn around with her eyes wide in fear.

_Please let that be Inuyasha trying to trick me as some form of punishment for kicking him. Kami, if you're there, please let that be Inuyasha in that bush and not some scary youkai who likes to eat girls._

Kagome screamed as she saw two wide yellow eyes staring back at her and fangs stained with blood. She saw a scaled arm being raised as claws, also stained with blood, pulled the youkai out of the bush. Kagome turned around and began to run off, not wanting to see the youkai anymore.

_This isn't the way I want to die!_ Kagome's mind screamed as she weaved through the trees. _Sango-chan! Miroku-sama! Help me! Hell, even Inuyasha! Just please don't let me die here today._

Kagome's foot landed in a hole and she tripped, spraining her ankle in the process. She tumbled down another steep hill before landing on the ground. Her head fell back hard onto a rock. Pain shot through Kagome's body as she struggled to maintain consciousness. She could feel warm blood dripping down her neck. Kagome tried to sit up but a wave of pain forced her back down to the ground.

The girl looked up and saw two yellow eyes blinking at her. The fangs were spread into a smirk and the youkai began advancing.

"Oh kami, no," Kagome croaked her vision blurring.

The last thing Kagome saw before she fell unconscious was the dark tree tops above her and two yellow eyes advancing towards her.

* * *

OoOoOoO

* * *

_Urgh…why does my head hurt? Kami, I feel like I've drunk enough sake to make a heavy drinker drunk._

Kagome sat up slowly blinking. She placed her palm to her forward as she tried to blink away the blurriness. She looked up and saw Inuyasha, Miroku and Sango sleeping on the ground next to her.

Looking around, Kagome could see that they were in a small hut built for travellers to rest between their journeys between villages. It was a small hut and looked rather abandoned and dishevelled.

Kagome pushed a blanket off her and looked outside. It was night…

_How did I get here? I thought that youkai was going to kill me. Was it Sango-chan that saved me? Miroku-sama? Or…Inuyasha?_

Kagome gave a small smile at the thought that Inuyasha had come to _save_ her. Maybe he wasn't such a bad guy after all.

"You're awake."

The sudden voice of someone who was awake besides her, caused Kagome to scrambled backwards in shock.

"I thought I was the only one awake," she murmured looking towards Inuyasha.

He had positioned himself against the wall, clutching his sword almost possessively. He still looked like he was slumbering at the way he was looking down at the ground, but Kagome knew better and knew he was wide awake.

"You woke me up with your scrambling," Inuyasha said sounding slightly irritated.

"Sorry," Kagome snapped. An awkward silence filled the wooden building before Kagome clear her throat, breaking the tension. "Was it you that saved me?" she asked timidly.

"What is it to you?"

"I owe my life to the one that saved me," she said quietly looking away from Inuyasha.

"Your life doesn't mean anything to me," Inuyasha said almost harshly.

Kagome blinked._ So it was you, Inuyasha! You saved me…even though you hate me._

"Thank you for saving my life, though," Kagome said raising her fist to her mouth and smiling. "And even if my life doesn't mean much to you, I'm still grateful."

"Keh."

Kagome pursed her lips. Inuyasha was acting like a little kid! Couldn't he at least say something nice! Here she was, sinking low enough to say thanks to Inuyasha and he was kicking her further down.

"Do you hate me or something?" Kagome said crawling over to Inuyasha and pulling at one of his dog ears. She almost pulled back at the contact; she hadn't expected his ears to feel so furry or velvety.

"What the hell, woman!" Inuyasha roared trying to pull back but that only made Kagome tighten her grip. Miraculously, the monk and taijiya remained asleep.

"Do you hate me?" Kagome repeated through gritted teeth. "Because I have done _nothing_ to you and you just decide to hate me? Where is the just reason behind that?"

"I just hate you, that's all!" Inuyasha snapped. "Is it wrong to hate someone just by how you feel around them?"

"You don't even know me!" Kagome said releasing Inuyasha's ear.

"Do _you_ hate _me_?" Inuyasha retaliated with equal passion.

"The only reason I don't like you is because you hate me, for no reason either!" Kagome said standing up, forgetting her injuries.

Kagome gave a small hiss of pain as she tumbled to the ground but Inuyasha caught her before she could add more injuries to herself.

"I have my reasons for hating you," Inuyasha said quietly into the girl's ear. "You just wouldn't understand."

"Try me," Kagome said pulling herself away from Inuyasha.

The hanyou raised a sceptical eyebrow at her before shaking his head. "Go back to sleep. You need your rest."

Without another word, Inuyasha slumped back to the ground into his sleeping position. Kagome sighed and made her way back to her bed.

_He hates me, but he won't tell me why. Why does he seem so familiar though?_ Kagome thought before sinking into a deep slumber.

* * *

OoOoOoO

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Kagome woke up a few hours later to the sounds of Sango making breakfast over a merry fire and Miroku watching her from a distance. Inuyasha had disappeared somewhere as far as Kagome could tell.

"Morning," Kagome said struggling to sit up.

"Good morning Kagome-chan!" Sango said smiling. "Would you like some rice? I also have some eggs here if you would like any."

"Arigato," Kagome said taking a bowl of rice with an egg placed on it. "Where is Inuyasha?"

"He said he wanted to take a walk," Miroku said taking a bowl from Sango. "How are you feeling now Kagome-sama?"

"Much better," Kagome said in between stuffing the rice into her mouth. "Starving though."

"You should be," Sango replied. "You've missed out on lunch and dinner yesterday. Plus your body must be exhausted. You received some pretty nasty injuries."

"Twisted ankle, bad bruises, and a head injury," Miroku counted. "Can you walk fine?"

"Sort of," Kagome said standing up and leaning her weight on her bad ankle before toppling to the ground. "OK, maybe not."

"Well, if we want to make it to Shinto within two days now, we'll have to get Inuyasha to carry Kagome-sama for us," Miroku said looking ever so amused.

"What?" a fourth voice roared leaping into the scene.

Inuyasha looked furious with his eyes glaring daggers into Miroku, as well as the large pile of fire wood he was holding.

"Now Inuyasha," Miroku said hastily scrambling behind Sango. "You were the reason why she got hurt in the first place."

"You want to say that again houshi!" Inuyasha shouted rolling up the sleeve of his haori. He raised a clenched fist at Miroku accompanied with a glare that would have made even the dead flinch in fear.

Kagome watched the two men argue with a smile. She honestly didn't mind if Inuyasha were to carry her. Truthfully, it was her fault that she got injured in the first place. Besides, with him carrying her would give her the perfect opportunity to give him reason to _like_ her. Plus, she had to take advantage of a free ride.

"Fine! I'll carry the stupid wench! Just shut up about it already!" Inuyasha finally shouted knocking Miroku on the head. "At least we'll move faster now."

"Why are you in such a hurry to get to Shinto?" Sango asked throwing some water onto the fire.

While the men were fighting with Kagome watching amused, Sango had gone around and packed their belongings. They were now ready to head back onto the road.

"What the hell do you mean?" Inuyasha snapped ignoring the houshi allowing him to scramble away safely, while rubbing the bump on his head.

"You're the first one to go to bed at night and you're the first one up. You're also very handy with packing, though not today, but you always seem to be in a rush. If we weren't accompanying you, I would think that you would have run off by now."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Inuyasha replied turning around and crossing his arms. It was amazing how the hanyou now resembled a three-year-old boy who was just accused of stealing out of the cookie jar.

"You told me that you had unfinished business in Shinto," Kagome recalled.

"I do."

"And what's that 'unfinished business'?" Sango asked.

"What the hell is this? An interrogation?" Inuyasha snapped. "Let's just go. The faster we get out of here, the faster we get to Shinto."

Sango and Kagome exchanged glances before smiling. Even if Inuyasha wanted to deny it, he did want to get to Shinto and Kagome knew that why he wanted to go, she just couldn't remember it right then.

_What business does he have in Shinto?_ Kagome's mind pondered as Inuyasha lifted her onto his back. _Those that leave Shinto only go to join the war. What's his reasons for leaving Shinto? The way he says he has unfinished business makes me wonder what it is. Does it involve Kikyo? How do they know each other?_

Kagome sighed and shook her head.

_Or…does he know anything about Kikyo's death?_

_

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_

OoOoOoO

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**Author's Note:** Would you call that a cliffie? Oh well, at least Kagome's got some questions that will be answered later. Who thinks they can guess what's going to happen soon? Geez, at the rate I'm going this story might not last long.

I'm probably not going to be able to update for a while now. I have exams coming up soon and I really have to study since I'm doing really badly in maths and science. So I am apologizing in advance.

PLEASE REVIEW!


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